We play bowls wearing indoor shoes without heels so that the carpet is not damaged.

The Playing Area
A game takes place on a long narrow mat called a short mat bowls rink, which measures approx 45 feet long and 6 feet wide.
A small ball called a jack is placed at one end of the mat, a block of wood is positioned in the centre of the mat across the middle and a delivery mat is placed at the opposite end to the jack.
All of these must be positioned either on or within specific boundaries which are marked out on the mat by a number of white lines.

Playing the Game
With one foot on the delivery mat, each opposing player or team will take it in turns to send a bowl and attempt to get as close to the jack as possible. As the block of wood prevents them from playing directly down the centre of the mat, players must bowl around the wood and avoid touching it.
Players on opposing sides play their shots alternately until all bowls have been played by all players. This whole process is called an "end.”

Scoring
Following the completion of an end, the bowl or bowls adjudged to be nearest the jack score for their respective owners' team.
As an example, if Team A has a bowl which is nearest the jack, but the second nearest bowl belongs to Team B, one point is scored for that end by Team A. However, should Team A have the second, third, fourth etc placed bowls for that end, then they score an additional point for each respective bowl.
When the score for that particular end has been agreed, the jack and delivery mat swap places at each end of the rink and the next end begins; with the lead from the team that just scored bowling first.